Shoeing gauge



March 15, 1949. P. H.HOWE 2,464,687

SHOEING GAUGE Filed Sept. 5, 1946 I INVENTOR PairickJilJiw BY A ORNEYS" Patented Mar. 15, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SHOEING GAUGE Patrick H. Howe, Jamaica, N. Y.

Application September 5, 1946, Serial No. 694,951

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to horse-shoeing and more particularly to correct nailing of the shoe to the wall of the hoof. It is most important that the nail be inserted into the wall at the proper angle. This is particularly true with respect to horses where the wall is kept relatively short where racing plates or shoes are normally replaced at intervals of from two to three weeks. The improper placing of the nail may cause a puncture of the sole and mean permanent or temporary injury to the foot which will lay up an animal for a period of Weeks. Since the race horse represents an investment in many instances of thousands of dollars, an injury to the foot due to improper shoeing can mean a substantial financial loss to the owner. If a nail is inserted at too great an angle the danger of puncturing the sole exists while if the angle is too slight there is a danger of the nail pulling loose and breaking ofi a portion of the wall, thus making the resetting of a shoe difiicult or impractical.

An object of this invention is to provide a gage by which the horseshoer can at all times fit the nail at a correct angle since the horses foot varies in angle with relation to the ground from front to rear. Th angle at which the nail is set varies at the toe from that at the rear part of the sole, the angle being much greater at the toe than toward the wall. As the horses hoof grows the hoof toughens and the toe is much tougher and harder than that part of the wall which meets the bar since the toe is much longer than the heel. It is desirable, therefore, to vary the angle of the nails as they are inserted as the nail can take a much larger bite at the toe than toward the end of the wall.

An object of this invention is to provide a single gage which will compensate for the difference in slope in a horse's hoof and to provide the correct angle regardless of the point at which the nail is inserted.

A further object is to provide a gage which may be used by not only experienced shoers but by those with lesser experience and which will still start the nail at the correct angle.

Other objects and advantages of the invention become apparent from the accompanying drawings and following description.

In the accompanying drawing- Fig. 1 shows a side view partly in cross-section of a gage as applied to a hoof.

Fig. 2 is an end view showing the manner in which the nail is held.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the gage.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the gage I!) may be made of metal or similar material and is provided with a nail holding end H and a hoof contacting end l2. Presumably the gage is curved to form a recessed portion at It and a second recessed portion at I5 to accommodate the fingers. The nail positioning end ll is provided with two ridges, or lugs, l6 and I! having shoulders l8 and I9. In operation the gage would normally be held betweenf'the thumb and first finger of the left hand with the first finger within the recess l4 and the thumb holding the nail 20 against the portion 2| between the ridges or lugs l6 and H. The gage would be placed with the shoulders I8 and 1'9 resting on the shoe 22 on the hoof 23. The smaller finger of the left hand would engage the recessed portion IE to hold it against the surface 24 of the hoof 23. The nail may then be started in the usual way hammering it into the wall of the hoof. Once the nail is started the gage may be removed and the nailing of the shoe completed in the normal way. Since the angle of the hoof at the toe is much greater than on the side walls a greater bite will be secured at the toe while if the nails are inserted along the side of the hoof the angle of the surface being less the angle of the nail will be correspondingly less and the bite be smaller.

It will be seen that with my improved gage there is very little possibility for a horseshoer to make a mistake and to drive a nail into the sole. By the same token the bite of the nail will be sufilcient to secure a proper clinch and to fasten the shoe securely to the foot. An opening 26 may be provided in the curve over the top end 21 so that a nail may be temporarily inserted through the opening 26 and the opening 28 to hold it before applying it to the shoe. The opening 28 as well as the opening 29 may be used to hang the gage on a nail when not in use.

I claim:

A gage for use in shoeing horses comprising a fiat strip member having at one end a first ofiset curved portion, one side of said curved portion being provided with ridges adapted to receive a nail therebetween, said ridges having shoulders to be positioned on the edge of a shoe whereby a nail may be held between the thumb and forefinger through the hole in said shoe, said member having at its other end a second portion curved and offset in the same direction as the first curved portion to contact the surface of the hoof and to accommodate a finger of the hand to determine the angle at which the nail is to be driven.

' PATRICK H. HOWE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 928,422 Beard July 20, 1909 1,189,998 Perkins July 4, 1916 1,193,280 Lunger Aug. 1, 1916 1,688,445 Williams Oct. 23, 1928 

